Healthy Lifestyle Challenge #23 – Save Yourself Some Time!

Sunday. For me, it’s a love/hate kind of day – I love the fact that it’s still the weekend and we get to spend time doing fun stuff as a family, but I hate the fact that tomorrow is the beginning of another busy work week…Ugh!

So, I CHALLENGE you to:

Do 1 thing today that will help you get ready for tomorrow.

Why?

Studies have shown that when things run smoothly in your morning it lifts your mood for the rest of the day, while stress and anxiety can not only ruin your mood, but your immune system as well. By taking a few minutes to ready something for tomorrow, you’ll have one less thing to have to decide on and make time for in the morning.

How?

Choose one thing that will help  make your tomorrow easier, and do it before you go to bed tonight. Here are some ideas:

• lay out your clothes and the kids too!
• plan tomorrow’s dinner
• make lunches
• pack your bag
• put gas in the car

Enjoy your day! And here’s to a great start to the week!

Healthy Lifestyle Challenge #4 – Get Some zzzzz’s!

Although most of us know that eating healthy and exercising regularly are important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, many of us underestimate the importance of getting enough sleep.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

Go to bed a half hour earlier than normal tonight.

Why?

Most people don’t get enough sleep. Adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night to reap the following benefits:

How?

Here are some tips to help you get a good nights sleep:

• Stick to a Sleep Schedule 
• going to bed at the same time each night, and getting up at the same time each morning  – even on weekends – sets your bodies internal clock to expect to sleep at a certain time each night
•  Pay Attention to What You Eat and Drink 
• don’t go to bed hungry to stuffed – you’re discomfort may keep you up
• limit how much you drink before bed to avoid having to pee in the middle of the night
• avoid caffeine and nicotine – both are stimulants and can produce alerting effects. Although they may not keep you up, they are most likely disrupting your sleep.
• avoid alcohol – although alcohol is a depressant, it actually disrupts sleep causing nighttime awakenings
• Establish a Regular Bedtime Routine
• do the same things each night to let your body know its time to wind down
• take a bath, read a book or meditate
• avoid stressful and stimulating activities
• Get Some Exercise
• regular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and help you sleep more soundly
• be sure not to exercise too close to bedtime – you may be too energized to fall asleep!

Going to bed early is not a problem for me! I love being in bed 9, I read for a bit and most nights I’m out cold before 10 – it’s great I get at least 8 hours of quality sleep!

How much sleep do you get each night?
What’s your usual nighttime routine?

I Am So Sore!

So yesterday I did my first ever Crossfit workout…

And let me just say – it was killer! The knees to elbows are ridiculous! I honestly felt like I was going to puke! No joke!

Since I did my workout in our school’s weight room, and not in the ‘box’I didn’t know how much I should be lifting, but here’s what I did…

– 20″ box jump
– 15lb Kettlebell swings
– 25lb push press
– 4kg wall ball toss

My time was

If anyone knows how much weight I should be lifting for the Kettlebell swings, push press and wall ball toss, please let me know 🙂 In the meantime I will be soaking in Epsom salts, trying to rid my body of all the pain!

I’d love to try a few more Crossfit workouts – share your favourites so I can give them a try! Please 🙂

How Will You Stay Busy When You Retire – August Writing Challenge #27

Wow, today’s Blogger Challenge questions has me looking about 17 years into the future…how will I keep busy when I retire?

Well, since my kids will be in university, I will probably have to continue to work part time for at least a few years– I’m thinking a little supply teaching here and there wont be too bad!?!?

Also in the plans….

Buy and house and spend the winters in Mexico. Warmth, sun, sand….OMG, I wish I would win the lottery so we can do this right now!

Run…I’m thinking if my knees hold out, I might actually be a pretty good runner in 17 years! I’d love to travel around the world and do some races.

Scrapbook – I’m sure I will be years and years behind by that point, so I hope to enjoy some time relaxing and preserving our family’s memories 🙂

That’s about all I can come up with right now…I’m sure as retirements gets closer, my list of things to do will get longer.

How do you plan on keeping busy when you retire?

August Writing Challenge

Im super excited to take part in The August Healthy Living/Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge being hosted by Janice over at the Fitness Cheerleader.

Each day for the month of August, I will write a post on a specific topic, link it back to Janice’s blog and read and comment on other like minded bloggers posts. Not only does this challenge give me 31 days worth of blogging ideas, but it is a great way to meet other bloggers and find new blogs to follow.

It all starts tomorrow! Stay tuned!

July Foodie PenPal

This month I was super excited to have my first ever Foodie PenPal experience.

I’m sure you are probably wondering what the heck is a Foodie PenPal? Well, it’s a program created by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean, in which bloggers (and non-bloggers) send a food package to someone and receive a food package from someone else. It’s a great way to meet other bloggers and discover new blogs.

This month I received a package from Tina.

Tina is from Newfoundland and sent me some delicious local treats including Bakeapple tea (which I am sipping at as I write this post), two kinds of homemade fudge, and a package of Jam Jams.

I also received a package of SunRype FunBites and a Vega Whole Food Vibrancy Bar. The Fruit Bites were a hit with my daughter and I was actually surprised at how good the Vega Bar was!

And my most favourite part of the who package was the Dark Chocolate Bar…straight from France! I was a little hesitant to try the chocolate bar because I’m not a huge fan of dark chocolate…but it was sooo good…and good for you!

Thanks so much Tina for making my first Foodie PenPal experience such a great one!

If you are interested in becoming a Foodie PenPal, just click on the stamp above and it will take you to Lindsay’s blog and the sign-up page.